SINGAPORE – September 7th, 2011: Equvo Pte Ltd (EQUVO) , a Singapore incorporated company in semiconductor equipment leasing, remarketing and services, announced today that it is acquiring shares in ST Electronics Corporation (STEL), based in Tokyo, Japan.

Singapore, April 2012:EQUVO recently closed the first quarter with over US$ 100million of lease financing originated.This included a lease transaction it recently closed with Micron Semiconductor Asia (MSA) in Singapore backed by five Taiwanese banks: Far Eastern International Bank, Chinatrust Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank, EnTie Commercial Bank and Cosmos Bank.The US$ 60 million lease for Micron was signed and funded in the first quarter of 2012 for 300mm equipment.

Mr. Philippe Morali, Vice-President, Finance & Treasurer for Micron Technology, Inc. says: "We are very pleased with the results of this complex cross-border lease structure with the Taiwanese banks and with EQUVO as the lessor. Throughout the process, the Taiwanese banks have demonstrated unparalleled understanding of, and commitment to, the semiconductor industry and Micron, and have taken a long-term, strategic view to the relationship. As Micron's manufacturing footprint continues to grow in Asia, we look forward to working closely with local capital markets and financial institutions for our future financing needs."

The spokesman for Far Eastern International Bank, Mr. JJ Lin, Group Executive Vice-President says,"This transaction spans across the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.In spite of a highly volatile memory market, the banks worked closely together to see through the transaction because we believe Micron is a strong memory player with a diversified product range (NAND-Flash, DRAM, NOR-Flash, etc.), advanced technology know-how, prudent financial policies, stable cash flow management and a good operating foundation."

CEO of EQUVO, Mr Melvin Low remarks:"Micron has placed their trust in our young humble little company.Our team work hard to constantly fulfill their needs and exceed their expectations.As I understand Singapore is now their largest manufacturing location worldwide."

"EQUVO just celebrated its 3rd anniversary in February.Having our lease volume exceed US$100 million that quarter in is a nice present for the company.To date, EQUVO has originated close to US$350 million in lease financing and sold over 1000 pieces of used semiconductor equipment.", he adds.

About EQUVO

EQUVO Pte Ltd, headquartered in Singapore, provides lease financing, equipment management and services for the semiconductor and related industries.It has offices in Singapore, Taiwan and Japan, registered entities in Hong Kong and Korea and a rep office in San Diego, USA.Press contact: winnie.chin@equvo.com.

It provides lease financing, equipment management, services and consulting for the semiconductor and aviation industries.

TUE, APR 24, 2018 - 5:50 AMNARENDRA AGGARWAL

Mr Low says the company will keep to its plans to grow the business more profitably in the long term for its shareholders, build a relevant business for its customers and be a company that its employees love to work for while achieving the first two objectives.

The Singapore SME 1000 - Sales/Turnover Growth Excellence Award for Services has been won by EQUVO Pte Ltd. It topped the services sector in turnover growth.

"We jumped from 1,172nd position to 555th. We are happy and flattered; but more importantly we made necessary changes to align our business, something not evident in the ranking," says Mr Melvin Low, chief executive officer and founder of the company.

Asked how he sees the importance of the annual S1000 rankings done by DP Info, Mr Low says: "The S1000 ranking is a great leader board for companies to measure themselves annually and how they perform against their peers. It has gained its reputation over the years as a more informative directory for the top 1,000 companies."

"For my company, the S1000 Rankings is like a 'mirror along a walkway' we can glance at to check on ourselves while we are busy moving forward. It helps my company put in perspective where we stand relative to our peers or other SMEs in Singapore. It is also a ready and reliable database for us to ask potential investors to look us up on," he adds.

EQUVO Pte Ltd, headquartered in Singapore, provides lease financing, equipment management, services and consulting for the semiconductor and aviation industries. It has business operations in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong.

The company has a reputation of getting the job done effectively. In financing, it has originated over US$1.5 billion in lease volume since its founding in 2009. In equipment sales, it has transacted over 2,000 pieces of used semiconductor equipment.

HUMBLE BUT PROUD

EQUVO also provides consulting services to companies in Korea and China for financing and globalisation.

"Our company remains humble but proud. Humble in the sense that our customers always come first. We exist to serve their needs. Our team works hard to get the job done and breaks new frontiers to make things happen because our customers need it," says Mr Low.

"Then come our investors and banks; they put money in our company and in the transactions. We have a zero delinquency record and make it our duty to protect their investments. We always make sure our employees have fun and grow while they make money for themselves and the company. We are proud of our achievements," he adds.

As for plans to improve the ranking and grow the business going forward, Mr Low says the company will keep to its plans to grow the business more profitably in the long term for its shareholders, build a relevant business for its customers and be a company that its employees love to work for while achieving the first two objectives.

"Sometimes making strategic moves may cause a turnover or profit drop along the way and move us backwards in the S1000 ranking. If we keep 'looking at the mirror', we may end up walking slower, or moving in the wrong direction, or worse still, trip over! I believe staying on course in our business plans will eventually improve our S1000 ranking. However, improving our S1000 rankings year on year is not our priority," says Mr Low.

EQUVO's core business is in arranging lease financing for the semiconductor industry. The company says that it works with investors and banks to provide fairly large sized lease financing to its customers.

NEW FABS

"Behind smartphones, tablets, cloud computing and storage, artificial intelligence, electric cars etc, is the semiconductor chip. Semiconductor fabrication plants ("fabs" for short) producing these chips now cost over US$5 billion each to build. New fabs are springing up all over China. Existing fabs in Taiwan, Korea and Singapore are investing a lot more to grow capacity. Loans and leases are correspondingly growing with the increased demand for chips," says Mr Low.

"Peripheral to our core business, we buy, sell, broker and auction semiconductor equipment. We provide asset advisory services for syndicated bank loans. We also provide consultancy services to several Korean and China companies," he adds.

China is one of the fastest growing leasing markets, says Mr Low. "We are working with local partners to penetrate and grow in China. They focus on interacting with China banks and investors; we provide the expertise in semiconductor leasing and lever our global equipment sourcing and selling network."

"I look at China very differently than the rest of Asia or for that matter the rest of the world. It has a unique ecosystem; we can find customers, investors, banks, suppliers ... and even potential IPO participants within China. EQUVO will play in China with the Chinese for the Chinese and will likely use Chinese money. It will be different but 'un-ignorable' as a market, and in our world, a semiconductor giant in the making a couple of decades from now," he add.

"With this growth strategy, I believe we can grow the business but continue to maintain our zero delinquency leasing record for the next 22 years and more and move up our S1000 ranking eventually or perhaps get more of EQUVO's related companies to try to win S1000 awards."